Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced, in conjunction with Codemasters and Turbine, that Lord of the Rings Online is changing to a free-to-play model from September 10th.

Players will be able to download the game from www.lotro.com and play for free. Meanwhile the publishers hope to gain revenue by selling items via the game's store. In addition to buying items on an individual basis players can opt to pay to be a VIP and gain access to all the premium content.

"Our LOTRO beta program has been a huge success and we want to thank all of our players who worked with us to get the game ready for launch," said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of LOTRO, Turbine. "Our unique pricing model has revolutionized the industry and starting in September, players will be able to choose how they pay for and play one of the world’s best online games and we can’t wait to welcome millions of new players to Middle-earth!"

Players who pay to become a LOTRO VIP will have unlimited access to all premium content, receive priority server access, 5 character slots, a shared bank slot, and a monthly allotment of points to spend in the new LOTRO Store.